Method of and apparatus for ventilating elevator cars



June 1944- J. 5. COULTON EIAL $350,389

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR VENTILATING ELEVATOR CARS s sheets-sheet 2 Filed Oct. '7, 1940 Fig. 5'

INVENTORS. HN S. COULTQN JZPA RD/sno AiMhfiw ATTORNEY June 6, 1944. s, CQULTON A 2,350,389 I METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR VENTILATING ELEVATOR,CARS

Fi1edybct.}'7 1940 s Sho ets-Sheet 5 Fig. 8

' INVENTORSA I JOHN S.-COUI.TON'

R. DIssRo ATTORNEYS BY: IRA wawwawg Patented June 6, 1944 5 j UNITED STATES PAT ENT OFFICE u 4 (2,350,330 h 1 a MErHonoF AND APPARATUS FOR VENTI- 0 LATING ELEVATOR CARS John s. Coulton, Clevelandandflra; R. Disbro,

Lakewood, Company Ohio, ssigning-"to The-w. S.'Tyler 1' Application October 7, 1940,.seria1 No. 300,060

'7 Claims.

Thisinvention relates, as indicated, to the-ventilation of ,elevatorcars, but has reference more particularly to the provision of ventilating means which may be incorporatedin existing elevator .cars. v H I In the early typesof elevator cars, a large portion of the sides and-top of the car consisted of open grille work, which construction permitted an ample supply of relatively fresh air to pass through the car at all times, so that there was no problem of ventilation.

.in later types, radical-changes have occurred in the design of elevator cars, so that at the present time, virtually every new elevator is of solid construction throughout, with the exception of small openings near the top or bottom of the sides or at both top and bottom. This has created a serious ventilation problem, attempts to solve which have included the following expedients: v 1. A motor driven fanhas been attached to one of the sides of the car, so as to blow air in a more or less horizontal direction This serves only to stir up the air intth e car, and, at best, is of little value. r '2. A motor driven fan has been placed at the center of the ceilingof the car, so as to blow air vertically downward, but even if an opening is provided in the ceiling above the fan, the air is blown downwardly in the form of a cone, and the air is not distributed to all parts of the interior of the car. l L 3. Baffle plateshave been attached to the-exterior of the sides of the car at points adjacent the top and bottom openings referred to above, so that, when the car is moving up or down in the shaft in which it operates, a smallsupply of outside air willbe deflected into the car by means of such baflle plates, but, since these baflie plates cannot project beyond vertical planes defined by the edges of the elevator car platform, they are unable to direct a sufiicient volume of air into the car to make them of any real value as a ventilating means. I

4. A plenum chamber has been installed just above the ceiling of the car and a blower type fan, mounted on top, of this chamber, is used to force a supply of air from this chamber into the car through openings in, or near, the ceiling, this surplus airt-being exhausted from the car through openings near the bottom of the side walls. This arrangement provides an ample supply of fresh air inthe car, but has the great disadvantage, in connection with any elevator car,

of being very heavy as well as quite expensive. Another serious disadvantage is that the direct, continuous, downward flow of air creates a draft on the heads of passengers, which maybe quite disagreeable.

Itis well known that, when a person is perspiring, th e quickest way to cool him is to rapidly evaporate the perspiration by passing a current of=air over his skin. -With, the exception of the plenum chamber and blower fan-arrangement to which reference has been made, none of the aforesaid expedients has provided an adequate supply of outside air, properly circulated within the car, particularly in hot weather, and when the car is filled with passengers. I

A primary object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of all of the foregoingexpedients andtoprovide a light weight. inexpensive and highly effective means for providingan adequateand properly distributed supply of fresh air in an elevator car.

,To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully. described and particularly pointed .out in the claims; the annexed drawings. and the following description setting forth, in detail certain means and one mode of carrying out the invention, such disclosed means and mode illustrating, however, but one of various ways in which the principle of the invention maybe used.

In said annexed drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view, partly in vertical cross-section and partly in elevation, of an elevator cab having one form of the .novel ventilating means ,of the invention incorporated therein;

. Fig. 2 is a. transverse cross-sectional view, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

-Fig. 3 isa transverse cross-sectional view, taken on the lined-,3 ,of-Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing a modified form of the novel ventilating means;

Fig. 51s a transverse cross-sectional view, taken on the line 5-5 of'Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a transverse cross-sectional view, taken on the line 6-6of Fig. 4;

;-Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing a modified formand arrangement of the panel, and}; Fig- 8 is a transverse cross-sectional view, taken'cn' the line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and'3, the elevator car is of conventional design, and

of radially disposed blades H, the outer ends of which are preferably curved, as at l2, in the di'-' Y rection of rotation of the fan.

ceiling 3 of the car.

Suspended below the ceiling 3 of the car in spaced relation to the latter, as by means of bolts I3, is a circular panel 14, having a grille l5 therein, this grille being preferably disposed at a distance from the center of the panel equal to about half the length of the fan blades. The panel, it may be noted, is of a diameter considerably greater than the diameter of the fan.

The panel may be made of any desired material, shape or design, and, if desired, may serve as a support for a lighting fixture I6. The fan ispreferably disposed about half way between the ceiling 3 and panel l4, and is of a type which is adapted to blow air horizontally, i. e., in directions at right angles to the axis of the fan. To :insure quiet operation, rubber damper blocks l1 maybe interposed between the plate 5 and the brackets 8.

The side walls 2' of the car have grilles l8 therein, immediately above the platform or floor I. 7

When the fan is operated, currents of air will be driven out horizontally by the fan blades, as indicated by the arrows in'Fig. 1, will strike the canopy I9 of the car, and will be deflected downwardly into the car, as is also indicated by arrows. The rush of the driven air away from the fan will produce induced air currents, both downwardly through the opening 4 in the ceiling, and upwardly through the grill l5 in the suspended .panel l4, this induced air being then blown out horizontally, by the fan. Any surplus of air in the car, due to the inrush of air through the ceiling opening 4, is exhausted through the grilles l8.

Extensive laboratory tests of the aforesaid ventilating means, installed in an elevator car, have :shown that such means provides a highly effec: tive method of circulating air in a car to all points in the interior thereof, and at any desirable speed. The general flow of airis upward in the middle portion of the car and downward in the outer portions, adjacent the 'sides of the car. In addition, there is a flow of the air in a third direction, namely, horizontally, the fan blades creating a horizontal swirl or pinwheel effect, which is indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2, and which disturbs the up and down currents and produces a pleasing turbulence of the air.

} In that form of the invention shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the fan is suspended in the same manner .as in Fig. l, but the panel is preferably made of a transparent or translucent material, and is carried by a light box 2|, which, in turn, is suspended from the ceiling 22 in spaced relation to the fan by means of bolts 23. The panel 20 and box 2| provide a housing for a. plurality of fluorescent tubes 24 or the like, for illuminating the The blades ll are disposed directly below the'opening 4 in the interior of the car. The outer wallas well as a portion of the top of the box 2| may be made of translucent material, in order to light up the ceiling and canopy of the car.

The panel 20 is provided at the center with an air intake grille 25, and the inner wall 26 of the box 21, extending upwardly from the periphery of the grille 25, provides a tunnel or passageway for the passage of air from the interior of the car to the fan.

The fan is preferably of the type shown in Figs. 4 and 6, that is, it comprises a cage consisting of a'pair of vertically spaced spiders 26 and 21, and

. a multiplicity of circumferentially spaced curved [blades or vanes 28 extending between the peripheries of the spiders 26 and 21.

The action of the device shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 is substantiall the same as that of the device shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, so that no further description of such action is believed necessary.

In that form of the invention shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the panel 30 is rectangular instead of round, to illustrate the fact that the shape of the panel is not intended to be limited to the shape illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5. Moreover, this panel is suspended at a level which coincides with the lower level of the canopy 3|, of the car, so as to appear, in efiect, to be part of the ceiling of the car.

The panel 30 has a grille 32 therein for induction of air upwardly'therethrough from the interior of the car by the fan 33, air bein also induced downwardly by the fan through an opening 34 in the ceiling 35 of the car.

Illumination for the interior of the car may be provided, in the form of fluorescent tubes 36 suspended from the panel 30 in the manner shown in Fig. 8.

The operation of the device shown in Figs. 7

V and 8 is almost identical with that of the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2, so that further description thereof is believed unnecessary.

Since in general, the provision of ventilating means, as herein described, renders it possible to regulate the speed of the air currents as required to suit temperature and passenger load varia tions, it is apparent that the various devices provide an ideal means for assuring passenger comfort under all temperature conditions.

In most elevator cars, it is customary to pro vide an opening in the ceiling or canopy of the car for emergency exit purposes, and it is necessary that access to such opening be had with ease and Without undue delay. Since the panel, in each of the present ventilating arrangements, is suspended from the ceiling by means of bolts or other readily removable fastenings, such panel can be easily removed to provide the aforesaid access to the exit opening, by simply removing such bolts or other fastenings.

However, the panel may be suspended in other ways to render easy access to the aforesaid exit opening. For this purpose, the panel could be hinged at one side, so as to permit the panel to be moved downwardly into the car about its hinges, or the panel could be suspended from counterweighted chains, to permit it to be moved bodily downwardly into the car, and in fact, many other expedients forpermitting the panel to be temporarily moved from its normal position could be used.

Other forms may be employed embodying the features of our invention instead of the one herein explained, change being made as regards the means and the steps herein disclosed, provided the elements stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated elements be employed, whether produced by our preferred method or by others embodying steps equivalent to those stated in the following claims We therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as our invention:

1. In combination with an elevator car having an opening in the ceiling thereof, a panel below said ceiling and in spaced relation to the latter, said panel havin an opening therein, and means disposed between said ceiling and panel for in-- ducing a substantial flow of air downwardly through the opening in said ceiling and upwardly through the opening in said panel, said means blowing said induced air horizontally outward from the space between said-ceiling and said panel.

2. In combination with an elevator car having an opening in the ceiling thereof, a panel below said ceiling and in spaced relation to the latter, said panel having an opening therein and a fan disposed between said ceiling and panel and revoluble about an axis normal to said ceiling and panel, said fan when in operation inducing a substantial flow of air downwardly through the opening in said ceiling and upwardly through the opening in said panel, and blowing said induced air in a direction away from the axis of the fan.

3. The method of ventilating an elevator car, which comprises drawing air from the interior of the car and from a point exteriorly of the car, i

and blowing said air in a horizontal direction at a point below the ceiling of the car.

4. The method of ventilating an elevator car, which comprises inducing a flow of air from a point exteriorly of the car to a point within and below the ceiling of the car, simultaneously inducing a flow of air from the interior of the car to substantially the same point within the car to which said first-named induced air is drawn, and circulating the combined air in a direction horizontally outward from the point to which said induced air is drawn.

5. The method of ventilating an elevator car,

which comprises inducing a flow of air from a point above said car to a point below the ceiling of said car, simultaneously inducing a flow of air from the interior of said car to substantially the same point within the car to which said firstnamed induced air is drawn, and blowing the combined air in a horizontal direction against the canopy of the car.

6. In combination with an elevator car having an opening in the ceiling thereof, a panel, means securing said panel in spaced relation to said ceiling and below the latter, said panel having an opening therein, a plate, means securing said plate in spaced relation to said ceiling above said ceiling opening, a fan motor suspended from said plate, a fan driven by said motor and disposed in the space between said ceiling and said panel, said fan adapted to induce a flow of air downwardly through the opening in said ceiling and upwardly through the opening in said panel and to blow said induced air horizontally outward from the. space between said ceiling and panel.

7. In combination with an elevator car having an opening in the ceiling thereof, a panel, means I securing said panel in spaced relation to said celling and below the latter, said panel having an opening therein, a plate, means securing said plate in spaced relation to said ceiling above said ceiling opening, brackets secured to said plate, a fan motor supported by said brackets, a screen enclosing the space between said ceiling and plate, a fan driven by said motor and disposed in the space between said ceiling and panel directly below the ceiling opening, said fan adapted to induce a flow of air through said screen and downwardly through the opening in said ceiling and upwardly through the opening in said panel and to blow said induced air horizontally outward from the space between said ceiling and panel.

JOHN S. COULTON. IRA R. DISBRO. 

